Ivan the Terrible () is a two-part Soviet historical drama film produced, written and directed by Sergei Eisenstein. The film chronicles the reign of 16th-century Russian Tsar Ivan IV (Nikolay Cherkasov) and details his formation of the oprichnina and conflict with the boyars (nobility), particularly with his aunt (Serafima Birman) and cousin (Pavel Kadochnikov). Lyudmila Tselikovskaya plays Ivan's wife Anastasia Romanovna, and Mikhail Zharov, Amvrosy Buchma and Mikhail Kuznetsov play members of the oprichnina. The musical score was composed by Sergei Prokofiev.

The film was commissioned on behalf of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in January 1941. In Russian historiography, Ivan had generally been portrayed negatively; the film was intended to depict the tsar in a positive light and to draw parallels between Ivan and Stalin. Production was delayed by the German invasion and the subsequent Soviet entry into World War II in June. Principal photography eventually commenced in April 1943; the film was shot partly in black and white and partly in color. Most of the production was shot in black and white in the city of Alma-Ata; the color scenes were filmed in Moscow. Eisenstein had planned to finish both parts of the film by 1944, but delays meant only Part I and partial principal photography of Part II was completed by 1944. Part I was released in 1945 and received a Stalin Prize. Part II was completed in 1946, but was poorly received by Soviet authorities for its negative depiction of Ivan and banned that year; it was not released until 1958. Eisenstein intended Ivan the Terrible to be a three-part film, and had begun filming for Part III, but abandoned it after the ban of Part II. He died in 1948, leaving the project incomplete.

Ivan the Terrible had a polarized reception, being both harshly criticized and highly praised within the Soviet Union as well as internationally. Its visuals and scope were praised, but other aspects such as the acting and plot had a more mixed reception. Over the decades, Ivan the Terrible has been re-evaluated as both one of Eisenstein's greatest works and one of the greatest films of the 20th century. It has also sparked debate for its treatment of Stalinism and depiction of Ivan as a Stalin-like figure, and has been the subject of academic study with regard to its portrayal of history, religion, gender, homoeroticism and power.

Plot

Part I In 1547, the 17-year-old grand prince of Moscow, Ivan IV, is crowned as the first tsar of all Russia, amid animosity from the boyars (nobility) and jealousy from his aunt, Yefrosinya Staritskaya, who wishes to see her son, Vladimir Staritsky, on the throne. Ivan makes a speech proclaiming his intent to unite and protect Russia against the foreign armies outside her borders and the enemies withina reference to the boyars, who are already unhappy with his coronation. A Livonian ambassador asks Prince Andrey Kurbsky, Ivan's close friend, why Ivan is more worthy to rule than he is.

Shortly after, Ivan marries Anastasia Romanovna. At the wedding, Kurbsky, who is in love with her, attempts to seduce her, but she rejects his advances. Fyodor Kolychov, another close friend of Ivan, informs him that he cannot support him in his mission against the boyars and receives his permission to retire to monastic life. The marriage feast is interrupted by an unruly mob of common people, led by Malyuta Skuratov and the holy fool Nikola. The two complain that the tsar is being manipulated and led astray by the tsarina's family. Ivan calms the crowd, but is interrupted by envoys from the khanate of Kazan, who announce that Kazan has declared war against Moscow. The tsar decides to attack Kazan. Malyuta swears loyalty to him and accompanies him there.

In the siege of Kazan of 1552, Ivan's army digs saps underneath the city and fills them with gunpowder. Kurbsky, nominally in command, is reprimanded by Ivan for senseless brutality against their Tatar prisoners, causing his resentment against Ivan to grow. Kazan falls to the Russian army. Here, Ivan meets Alexei Basmanov, a commoner who despises the boyars. Basmanov and his son Fyodor accompany the tsar back to Moscow.

During his return from Kazan, Ivan falls deathly ill. Yefrosinya, knowing that Kurbsky resents Ivan, urges him to swear allegiance to Vladimir, promising him rule over Moscow, as Vladimir is intellectually disabled and not fit to rule on his own. Ivan sends for the boyars and orders them to swear allegiance to his son, the infant Tsarevich Dmitry, reminding them of the need for a single ruler to keep Russia united. The boyars, encouraged by Yefrosinya, refuse to do so. Ivan collapses and is thought dead. The boyars begin to swear allegiance to Vladimir, but when the tsarina hints that Ivan is not yet dead, Kurbsky hurriedly swears his allegiance to the tsarevich. Ivan recovers, and as a reward for his loyalty, Kurbsky is sent to the western border of the kingdom to fight against the Livonians and Poles. Alexei Basmanov is sent to the south to take care of the Crimean border. The promotion of a commoner creates more discontent amongst the boyars.

The boyars and the Archbishop Pimen plot against Ivan. Yefrosinya, to weaken Ivan and leave him without allies, plans to kill Anastasia. Just as the royal couple receives word that Kurbsky has surrendered to the Livonians, Yefrosinya slips a goblet of poisoned wine into their chambers. The news shocks the tsarina, who is already ill. Ivan, looking around for a drink to calm her, takes the wine and gives it to her, unknowingly killing her.

Ivan questions his own justifications and ability to rule, wondering if his wife's death and Kurbsky's final defection to Poland are God's punishment against him. He sends for his old friend, Kolychov. Alexei Basmanov suggests that he instead surround himself with men he can really trust, the oprichniki. He offers his son Fyodor in service to him as the first oprichnik.

Ivan abdicates and leaves Moscow for the town of Alexandrova Sloboda in 1564. When hundreds of common people come to him, he decides to return, saying that he will then rule with absolute power by the will of the people.

Part II: The Boyars' Plot In 1565, Kurbsky swears allegiance to King Sigismund of Poland. Sigismund promises that after he exploits the tsar's absence by conquering Moscow, he will make Kurbsky ruler of Ivan's territories. The plan is foiled when a messenger announces that Ivan has returned to Moscow. In Moscow, Ivan declares the establishment of the zemshchina, small portions of land set aside for the boyars, and the oprichnina, all other lands, to be administrated by himself.

Kolychov, now known as Philip, arrives. Ivan, lacking allies, asks him to take the position of metropolitan of Moscow. He agrees, on the condition of being given the right to intercede for condemned men. Immediately after, Malyuta, on Ivan's orders, kills several boyarsthree of which are Philip's kinsmenbefore he can intercede for them, gaining his enmity.

While speaking with Philip, Ivan recalls witnessing his mother's death by poisoning, and how as a teenager he confronted the boyars Shuysky and Belsky. Shuysky wanted him to sign a trade contract with the Livonian Order, but Belsky wanted him to sign a trade contract with the Hanseatic League. After Shuysky insulted Ivan's mother and attempted to strike him, Ivan had the boyar executed, and declared that he would rule alone, as tsar.

Fyodor Basmanov suggests to the tsar that his wife was poisoned. Suspecting Yefrosinya of the murder, yet unwilling to act against a member of his family, Ivan orders him to keep silent until they are certain of her guilt. Meanwhile, Philip vows to block Ivan's abuse of power and confronts him in the cathedral while a mystery play about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is presented. As they argue, a boyar child confuses Ivan for Nebuchadnezzar and calls out, asking whether this is the "terrible heathen king". Ivan immediately grows certain that Yefrosinya killed his wife. He proclaims that he will be exactly what his enemies call him: terrible.

Some time after, Yefrosinya announces to the boyars that Ivan has arrested Philip, and will likely execute him. Having lost one of their most powerful allies, the boyars, along with the archbishop Pimen, decide to assassinate Ivan and install Vladimir onto the throne. For this task, they select the novice Pyotr Volynets.

Ivan invites Vladimir to a banquet, at which the latter gets drunk and reveals the boyars' plot. Ivan, feigning surprise at Vladimir's revelation, suggests Vladimir try being tsar. He has the oprichniki dress Vladimir in royal garments and bow to him. Vladimir then leads them to the cathedral in prayer. Pyotr, hiding in the cathedral, mistakes him for the tsar and fatally stabs him.

Yefrosinya arrives, celebrating the death of Ivan. After seeing him alive, she finds the body of her son and goes insane. Ivan pardons the assassin, thanking him for killing not only "a fool", but "the tsar's worst enemy". He proclaims to his oprichniki that all his enemies within Moscow are vanquished, therefore, he can now turn his attention to those outside.

Cast

Production Development

In May 1940, film director Sergei Eisenstein wrote to Minister of Cinematography Ivan Bolshakov about two screenplays he planned to co-write with Lev Sheinin. The first was about British World War I officer T. E. Lawrence and the second was about the Beilis affair, the 1913 trial of a Jewish man who was falsely accused of killing a gentile boy. Eisenstein also had a film about Russian poet Alexander Pushkin in mind. When Bolshakov did not reply, Eisenstein and Sheinin wrote directly to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin on 31 December, expanding on their ideas for the Beilis film, but this project was rejected in January 1941. That month Eisenstein met with Andrei Zhdanov, chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet, who instead commissioned on Stalin's behalf a film about the Russian Tsar Ivan IV, commonly known by his epithet "the Terrible".

Stalin admired Ivan, considering him to be a "great and wise" ruler. He was interested in rehabilitating Ivan's reputation as the founder of the modern Russian state. Ivan the Terrible was among several historical films produced during the 1930s and 1940s, intended to draw parallels between Russian historical figures and contemporary Soviet politics. Other such works included Vladimir Petrov's Peter the Great (1937), Vsevolod Pudovkin's Minin and Pozharsky (1939) and Eisenstein's previous film, Alexander Nevsky (1938). An official campaign to commission works of art depicting Ivan in a positive light was launched in the winter of 19401941. At the same time as the commission of Eisenstein's film, a play about Ivan was commissioned, to be written by Alexey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, and several operas about Ivan were in the works. The operas were abandoned following the German invasion of the USSR in 1941.

Eisenstein began research on the film in early 1941. Among his sources were Heinrich von Staden and Andrey Kurbsky, who wrote about their lives in Ivan's court, as well as Ivan's correspondence with Kurbsky. Eisenstein also read the biography of Ivan by Robert Wipper and the writings of historians Sergei Solovyov, Vasily Klyuchevsky, Alexander Pypin and Igor Grabar. Eisenstein filled over a hundred notebooks with his ideas for the film.